Philly players named to BIG EAST men’s, women’s teams; men’s semifinals are today at Villanova

Rutgers, St. John’s, Syracuse and Villanova shared the Big East men’s lacrosse regular season individual awards, as major award winners and all-conference teams were announced on Wednesday evening at the 2013 Big East Men’s Lacrosse Championship banquet, held at the Philadelphia Marriott West.

St. John’s junior Kieran McArdle was named Big East Attack Player of the Year and Villanova junior John LoCascio earned Big East Defensive Player of the Year honors. Syracuse senior JoJo Marasco was selected as the Big East Midfielder of the Year, and Rutgers freshman Kris Alleyne was the only rookie to earn a major award, tabbed as the Big East Goalkeeper of the Year.

Villanova head coach Mike Corrado was honored as the Big East Coach of the Year. Awards are voted on by the league head coaches, who are not permitted to vote for their own players.

McArdle was unanimously selected after leading the league this year with 85 points, 32 points more than the next-highest player. He recorded 36 goals and 49 assists to lead the league. In Big East play, McArdle led the league with 40 points on 18 goals and 22 assists. McArdle is also second in the nation in points per game (6.54 ppg).

LoCascio led the Wildcats’ defense during the regular season, collecting a team-high 75 ground balls and leading the squad with 47 caused turnovers. He was fourth overall with 6.25 ground balls per game and he recorded 7.17 in league play (also ranking fourth in the league).

Corrado led the Wildcats to a 5-1 mark in Big East play this year, earning a share of the Big East regular-season title for the first time in program history. Villanova earned the No. 1 seed overall for the Big East Championship. Corrado put together a difficult schedule, as the Wildcats faced nine opponents ranked in the top 20. Villanova won four of its last five games heading into the postseason.

The All-Conference First Team was highlighted by five unanimous selections as McArdle, Marasco and LoCascio are joined by Kevin Cernuto of St. John’s and Syracuse’s Brian Megill.

The Big East Championship will be held on the campus of Villanova. Competition will begin today, with No. 2 seed Syracuse facing off against No. 3 seed Notre Dame in the first semifinal of the day at 4:30 p.m. ET, televised live on ESPNU. At 7:00 p.m., No. 1 seed Villanova will play No. 4 seed Georgetown. That game will be broadcast on ESPN3, with the game replayed on ESPNU at 11:00 p.m.

Attack Player of the Year: Kieran McArdle, St. John’s
Midfielder of the Year: JoJo Marasco, SyracuseDefensive Player of the Year: John LoCascio, Villanova
Goalkeeper of the Year: Kris Alleyne, RutgersCoach of the Year: Mike Corrado, Villanova